1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flexible tubular product with an interior lumen and a thermocouple imbedded in the wall of the product. Utilizing the disclosed methods of manufacture, tubular products can be manufactured with thin walls and outer diameters of only about 0.020 inches rendering the resulting microtubing suitable for use as a catheter component in medical applications. In some circumstances, the lumen may be filled with a guide wire or otherwise not be used for communication of fluids. The lumen may also be formed over a hypotube.
2. Description of the Related Art
Thermocouple temperature sensors require the junction of two dissimilar conductors. As utilized herein, a "thermoelement" is one conductor of a pair of dissimilar conductors which may be used to form a thermocouple. A "thermocouple pair" comprises two thermoelements made of different thermoelectric materials.
In many medical applications, it is desirable to place a thermocouple within a patient's body. Thermocouples can not only be used to measure temperatures during electrosurgical procedures and in other localized areas of a patient's body, but thermocouples can be used as a part of flow measurement devices and other metering systems to report on bodily functions.
In designing a medical apparatus, it is a continual goal to produce smaller and "smarter" instrumentation to permit greater flexibility in the performance of medical procedures. In addition, cost reduction is a goal in all manufacturing processes. Also, reducing the size and form factor of the resulting microtubing is a goal. Furthermore, the manufacture of other devices required time consuming hand assembly of components. The present invention allows for the manufacture of integrated single and multiple integrated thermocouples within the wall of a microtube.